Professionally accredited

Overview

This professionally accredited course aims to provide you with a broad base of engineering, computational and analytical skills, as well as the specific knowledge and experience required for careers in the aeronautical industry.

All students initially apply to this degree, MEng Aeronautical Engineering (H401), before choosing whether to continue or transfer to one of the other three Aeronautics options.

Study programme

The first two years are the same across all of our Aeronautical Engineering courses, covering a strong base of physical and engineering subjects.

Year two includes more specialised aeronautical material such as aerodynamics, flight mechanics and propulsion and turbomachinery, plus the chance to attend a flighttesting course at the National Flying Laboratory Centre at Cranfield University.

Both years include laboratory-based coursework plus design, make and test exercises to develop your design and analysis skills.

You continue to cover core modules and laboratory work in years three and four.

You also begin to tailor the course to your interests by choosing from a selection of optional modules on specialist topics. This gives you the chance to focus on the areas of aeronautical engineering that interest you the most and tap into cutting-edge research activities being undertaken by internationally recognised experts within the Department.

Current choices include advanced propulsion, turbulence and turbulence modelling, wing design and advanced mechanics of flight, as well as general engineering options.

A group project in year three gives you the chance to simulate the work of a design team to take a design concept through the different stages of feasibility. Working in design teams, you are tasked with developing a particular design concept to the stage where feasibility has been fully explored. Recent examples include an advanced tactical stealth fighter and an off-shore oil platform.

Your study reaches Master’s level in the fourth year, with a range of advanced modules and a four-month individual research project, which gives you the chance to put your project management skills to the test. This can be carried out in the Department, in industry or at a research establishment, under the supervision of both College and industrial supervisors.

There are opportunities throughout to take management and non-technical modules through Imperial Horizons.

Students who have studied the appropriate foreign language also have the opportunity to undertake their project in Europe.

Facilities

Imperial’s Department of Aeronautics is at the cutting edge of aerospace teaching and research. Throughout the course you will benefit from access to our first class facilities, which include:

If you are an international student, transferring to a different course could have an impact on your Tier 4 visa. Please visit our International Student Support webpage for further information.

Structure

Please note that the curriculum of this course is currently being reviewed as part of a College-wide process to introduce a standardised modular structure. As a result, the content and assessment structures of this course may change for your year of entry. We therefore recommend that you check this course page before finalising your application and after submitting it as we will aim to update this page as soon as any changes are ratified by the College.

Find out more about the limited circumstances in which we may need to make changes to or in relation to our courses, the type of changes we may make and how we will tell you about changes we have made.

Year 1

Core modules

Aircraft Performance

Computing

Engineering Design

Engineering Ethics

Experimental Methods (5 Labs)

Introduction to Aerodynamics

Introduction to Structural Analysis

L1 Applications

Management and Business for Aeronautical Engineers

Mathematics

Mechanics

Properties of Materials

Thermodynamics

Year 2

Core modules

Aerodynamics

Circuits, Signals and Systems

Experimental Methods (8 Labs)

L2 Applications

Manufacturing Processes

Materials

Mathematics

Mechanics of Flight

Numerical Analysis

Propulsion and Turbomachinery

Structural Mechanics and Dynamics

Technology, Business and the Market for Aeronautical Engineers

You also have the opportunity to attend a flight testing course at Cranfield University.

Year 3

Core modules

Aerospace Vehicle Design

Aircraft Aerodynamics

Aircraft Structures

Airframe Design

Control Systems

Experimental Methods (5 Labs)

Finite Elements

Group Design Project

L3 Applications

Optional modules

You choose three modules from below.

Advanced Manufacturing

Advanced Mechanics of Flight

Advanced Propulsion

Aircraft Systems Engineering and Unmanned Vehicle Technologies

Biomechanics

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Computational Mechanics

Design-Led Innovation and New Venture Creation

High-Performance Computing

Innovation Management

Introduction to Turbulence and Turbulence Modelling

Materials in Action

Materials Modelling

Mathematics

Optimisation

Separated Flows and Fluid-Structure Interaction

Business and Humanities

You can choose one of the below in place of one of the modules above.

Imperial Horizons – offers a wide range of modules, including languages and humanities options, which are designed to broaden your education, inspire your creativity and enhance your professional impact

Year 4

Core modules

Optional modules

You choose four modules from below (that you have not studied in Year 3).

Advanced Manufacturing

Advanced Mechanics of Flight

Applications of Fluid Dynamics

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Computational Mechanics

Design-Led Innovation and New Venture Creation

High-Performance Computing

Innovation Management

Introduction to Turbulence and Turbulence Modelling

Materials in Action

Materials Modelling

Separated Flows and Fluid–Structure Interaction

Business and Humanities

You can choose one of the below in place of a module above.

Imperial Horizons – offers a wide range of modules, including languages and humanities options, which are designed to broaden your education, inspire your creativity and enhance your professional impact

Download the programme specification‌ [PDF] – this is the most up-to-date version available for this course. It may change for your year of entry. If/when changes to this course are approved by the College, we will update this document and the information on this course page.

Professional accreditation

This degree leads to a Master’s level qualification. It is accredited by the following organisations on behalf of the Engineering Council:

Achieving a professionally accredited integrated Master's degree (MEng) means that you have satisfied the first step to becoming a Chartered Engineer (CEng) in your chosen field by satisfying the educational requirements of professional registration. To gain Chartered status, you will need to demonstrate your ability to meet additional graduate level competences described in the Engineering Council's UK-SPEC

A CEng is a highly respected qualification earned by professionals working in engineering, which can lead to higher earning potential and better career prospects.

Professional registration also brings international recognition of your qualification, which is particularly useful for students preparing for a career abroad.

Our accreditation agreements with RAeS and IMechE are renewed every five years.

The current accreditation agreements are due to be renewed for students starting their studies in the 2020–21 academic year. The Department expects to be accredited into the future.

Associateship

As well as your main Imperial degree, you will also receive the award of the Associateship of the City and Guilds of London Institute (ACGI) on completion of this course.

The City and Guilds of London Institute is one of three historic Colleges that came together to form Imperial College London in 1907.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

You can expect to be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials and problem sessions.

Teaching, independent study and placement hours

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Lectures, seminars and similar

385 hours

378 hours

290 hours

150 hours

Independent study

1,115 hours

1,122 hours

1,210 hours

1,350 hours

Placement

–

–

–

–

Based on the typical pathway through the course

Assessment

Assessment varies between modules, but for the majority it involves a combination of written exams and continuous assessment of coursework and tutorial material. In the final years, interim and final oral presentations and progress reports are also assessed.

From the first year, you will take part in hands-on design exercises and laboratory tests using state-of-the-art equipment in the Department. This project work increases in complexity as you progress through the course.

Assessment types

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Coursework

26%

18%

44%

47%

Practical

–

–

–

–

Written

74%

82%

56%

53%

Based on the typical pathway through the course; percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number

Staff expertise

At Imperial, you will be taught by a range of teachers of all levels from Professors to PhD students, including some who undertake groundbreaking research and are regarded as experts in their field.

You may also experience peer teaching and be taught by specialists external to the College.

Compare this course

See how this course compares with similar courses at different institutions using the Unistats information below.

You can use the Unistats website to find out how this course compares in areas such as student satisfaction and what our graduates are doing six months after completing this course.

Entry requirements

We welcome students from all over the world and consider all applicants on an individual basis – see selection process below.

For advice on the requirements for the qualifications listed here please contact the Department (see Contact us).

We also accept a wide range of international qualifications. If the requirements for your qualifications are not listed here, please see our academic requirements by country page for guidance on which qualifications we accept.

Selection process

Assessing your application

Admissions Tutors consider all the evidence available during our rigorous selection process and the College flags key information providing assessors with a more complete picture of the educational and social circumstances relevant to the applicant.

Some applicants may be set lower offers and some more challenging ones. It is the College’s policy to not make offers below three A’s at A-level in relevant subjects, 38 IB points with at least a grade 6 at higher level in relevant subjects, or their equivalent.

A typical range of offers made by this Department in 2017 (encompassing at least 85% of applicants who studied A-level or IB) is shown above.

Post-application open day and interview

If your UCAS application indicates that you are likely to satisfy our requirements and you live within reasonable travelling distance of the College, you will be invited to visit the Department. The interview day consists of:

an interview with a member of staff

a 30 minute mathematics test

an opportunity to speak informally with students and lecturers

a tour of the Department and campus with current students

The interview aims to explore your interest in the subject, your technical ability and motivation to study aeronautics. You will also take a mathematics test, which is designed to evaluate your mathematical and problem-solving skills.

The interview provides an opportunity for you to ask for more detailed information about aspects of the course. You will also have an opportunity to meet other staff and students informally and will be invited to join a tour of the Department and the College.

We usually make offers of a place on the course within a month of your visit, although occasionally this may not be possible.

We also welcome applications for deferred entry if you want to spend a year gaining industrial experience before university.

There are alternative arrangements for applicants who do not live within reasonable travelling distance, which are either or both of the below:

a Skype interview

an open-ended technical question

English language requirement (all applicants)

All candidates must demonstrate a minimum level of English language proficiency for admission to the College.

Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)

An ATAS certificate is required for all Non-EEA/Swiss nationals who require a visa to study in the UK.

To apply for an ATAS certificate online, you will need your programme details and the relevant Common Aggregation Hierarchy (CAH) code and ‘descriptor’. For this course, these are:

CAH code

Descriptor

CAH10-01-04

aeronautical and aerospace engineering

Your Tier 4 visa application, or extension of stay, will automatically be refused if you need an ATAS certificate and cannot provide one.For further guidance on obtaining an ATAS certificate please see the information on our International Student Support website.

Tuition fees and funding

We charge tuition fees for every year that your course lasts. The fee you will be charged is based on your fee status, which is determined by government regulations.

Tuition fees (Home and EU students)

2019 entry

£9,250 per year

The UK government has confirmed that EU students entering the university in 2019 will continue to pay the Home rate of tuition for the duration of their course.

Please note that the fee you pay may increase annually by an amount linked to inflation and approved by Parliament under the Student Fees (Inflation Index) Regulations 2006 – currently the measure of inflation used is the RPIX.

Government funding

If you're a Home student, you can apply for a Tuition Fee Loan from the UK government to cover the entire cost of tuition for every year of your course.

You can also apply for a means-tested Maintenance Loan to help towards your living costs.

The UK government has confirmed that access to government funding will remain unchanged for EU students entering the university in 2019 throughout the duration of their course. This includes access to the Tuition Fee Loan for EU students who have resided in the European Economic Area for at least three years prior to study, and access to the Maintenance Loan for EU students have been resident in the UK for at least five years.

Tuition fees (Overseas and Islands students)

2019 entry

£30,250 per year

The tuition fees for Overseas and Islands students are set by Imperial College London.

You should expect and budget for your tuition fee increasing each year by an inflationary amount. The measure of inflation used will be the Retail Price Index (RPI) value in the April of the calendar year in which the academic session starts e.g. the RPI value in April 2019 will apply to fees for the academic year 2019–2020.

Additional course costs

This section outlines any additional costs relevant to this course, which are not included in your tuition fees. It is possible that all, or only some, of these will be relevant to you.

Please note that the figures provided are usually based on the cost in the most recent academic year. These are likely to change from year to year. However, it is useful for you to be aware of the types of things you may have to pay for and their approximate cost to help you budget for student life at Imperial.

This section indicates whether any additional costs that apply are mandatory or optional. Mandatory costs are those that you will need to pay to fully participate in and complete your studies. Optional costs are not essential to your studies so you will be free to opt out of these.

Summary

Description

Mandatory/optional

Guide to cost

Field trip (flight testing course)

Optional

£50

Personal Protective Equipment

Mandatory

Provided

Research project (at the College)

Mandatory

Free

Research project (elsewhere in the UK)

Varies

Research project (outside the UK) - return economy flight

Varies - Provided

Please review the information below for more information on the costs listed in the table.

Flight testing course

The Easter break of second year includes an optional flight testing course at the Cranfield Institute of Technology.

The cost of this trip to the Department in the 2016–17 academic year is £320 per student. Students wishing to take part will be asked to pay £50 towards this cost. Payment is required before the end of the spring term (March), via bank transfer.

Individual Research Project and Laboratory work

A four-month individual research project and laboratory work is a mandatory part of your final year assessment. You can choose to complete this in the Department, in industry, at a research establishment or at a different university either in the UK or overseas.

You should expect to budget for travel and/or accommodation costs if you choose to complete your project in industry, at a research establishment or at another university.

The Department will cover the cost of a return economy flight where the project is completed outside of the UK.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Wearing personal protective equipment is compulsory for some activities on this course. Where this applies, we will provide you with the necessary PPE free of charge.

Accommodation and living costs

Living costs, including accommodation, are not included in your tuition fees.

Over 90 per cent of Imperial undergraduates choose to live in our halls of residence in their first year. You can compare costs across our different accommodation options on our Accommodation website.

A rough guide to what you might expect to spend to live in reasonable comfort in London is available on our Fees and Funding website.

Careers

All of our undergraduate courses lead to an integrated Master's degree, which includes study at postgraduate level. This makes our graduates highly sought after for a range of careers in the aerospace industry, manufacturing, consultancy, research and development, and in other fields as diverse as teaching or finance.

Order a prospectus

Further information

Living in London

London’s creative energy and cultural vibrancy delivers a student experience unlike any other. Our first-year accommodation guarantee means that you'll have the perfect base from which to explore this exciting city.